1969 LEYLAND HIPPO

1969 LEYLAND HIPPO Articulated Truck.
Leyland Motors Limited was a British vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. It gave its name to the British Leyland Motor Corporation formed when it merged with British Motor Holdings, later to become British Leyland after being nationalised. British Leyland later changed its name to simply BL, then in 1986 Rover Group.

Typically bodied as tankers or tippers, Leyland Hippos were a common sight in many countries in the sixties and seventies.
Hippo, the name used by Leyland on several generations of highly successful six-wheeled goods models during a period of more than forty years.

The latter dates from the sixties, when there were about five standard Hippo variants with various wheelbases and specifications, including a choice of 9.8-litre or 11.1-litre engines — respectively, the celebrated O.600 or O.680.

These usually carried the Vista-Vue steel cab, better known to haulage people as the LAD, because it was a development of a design introduced in 1958 on Leyland, Albion and Dodge chassis.
Intended to operate with twelve-ton payloads and gross at 20-tons, Hippos used were usually the basis of tankers or tippers. It was a rarity in being a ballast or drawbar tractor of a type not usually encountered in heavy haulage, and that was only one of its noteworthy features.

Hippo became a familiar sight throughout many countries for over twenty years, handling numerous loads that were beyond the range of conventional lorries but not quite requiring the services of a large Scammell.

By the 1980’s, the type of work handled by the Hippo coincided with changes in the way heavy haulage is undertaken and, more significantly, the end of the vehicle's normal lifespan.
Overtime, with newer vehicles becoming available, Hippo’s were relegated to less and less work and after a time, many found their way into the scrapyards, where they were inevitably robbed of some parts or broken down into its raw materials.

LEYLAND 680 150HP ENGINE 'L' type
This was a horizontal six-cylinder 11.1 litre diesel engine with direct-injection, overhead-valve, four-stroke unit with a pump-driven water circulation system. Valves, rocker gear and injectors are carried in the two detachable cylinder heads, each head covering three cylinders. The valves are push-rod operated from the tappets and camshaft through rocker levers.

The crankcase and cylinder block form a monobloc casting, the cylinder bores being fitted with renewable liners. The gear-driven crankshaft is also housed within the crankcase.

The crankshaft is carried in seven thin-shell indium coated copper-lead bearings and carries a vibration damper at the front end.
The pistons are fitted with three compression rings, the top ring being chromium plated, and two scraper rings. The combustion chamber in the piston crown is of torodial form. The fully-floating gudgeon pins are retained by circlips.

The timing gears consist of a train of helical gears which drive the camshaft, fuel injection pump, water pump, compressor and engine tachometer generator through two idler gears driven by the camshaft gear.

Lubricating oil is pressure fed by a gear-type pump to the bearings etc., through drilled oilways. A by-pass centrifugal oil filter is incorporated in the system.

The fuel injection pump is mounted on the inner sump face and incorporates an idling and maximum speed governor and a diaphragm type lift pump. Multihole fuel injectors are fitted.
On later engines all electrical leads are carried in conduit and connected to a Niphan plug-and-socket, enabling the engine to be removed and replaced without disconnecting the terminal connections from the various components.

An oil-bath type air cleaner is mounted on the vehicle under frame and is connected by hose to the inlet manifold.
A water-cooled oil cooler is mounted on the engine.

CC rating: 11,093cc 677 ci (11.1L) O.680 Horizontal 6-cylinder

NZ First Registration: 10-Apr-1969


1976 TRAILER TMC Flat Deck Trailer

Tare Weight: 4,690kg
Gross Vehicle Mass: 22,800kg
Axle Type: 2-Axle Semi-Trailer
Wheelbase: 7,470
Rear Axle Group Rating: 16,000

NZ First Registration: 18-Feb-1976